Tim’s character Lesley will be seen briefly in series nine (Picture: ITV)

Both his wife Joan and ex-wife Denise Welch were reported to have kept a bedside vigil as he recovered from his illness, with the actor also crediting the music of The 1975 – his son Matt’s band – as helping him get better.’

‘[My wife] said that while I was in a coma she kept playing my son’s music to me; she had his album on a loop,’ he explained.

‘After a few days I started smiling and then I came round, so it was my son’s music that brought me back to the land of the living.’

Series nine of the show – which briefly features Tim – is now airing on ITV on Wednesdays at 9pm.